Taipei, Oct 15 (IANS): Young talent Hung Chien-yao of Chinese Taipei is determined to put up a strong defence of his Chang Hwa Open title when the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event tees off Thursday.

Hung is looking for a hat-trick of victories having first lifted the Chang Hwa Open title when it was still part of the domestic circuit in 2011 and extending his winning run when the event was re-launched as an ADT event last year.

The 22-year-old Hung will spearhead the local challenge alongside veteran 2000 Malaysian Open winner, Yeh Wei-tze and two-time Asian Tour winner Chan Yih-shin at the $100,000 event.

Thai duo Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Sattaya Supupramai, American Brett Munson and Niall Turner of Ireland, who sit inside the top five on the current Order of Merit, will also headline the 15th ADT Chang Hwa Open, which is the 18th leg of the ADT season.

Also in the fray are Malaysia’s Arie Irawan, England’s Grant Jackson, James Byrne of Scotland, Nils Floren of Sweden as well as Singaporean duo Choo Tze Huang and Koh Deng Shan, who form part of the international cast from 17 countries vying for honours at the Chang Hwa Golf Club.

“It’s great coming back here to defend my title again. I’ve been looking forward to it but I won’t give myself too much pressure this week. I will just play my best and we will see how it goes,” said Hung.